by Michael T. Young
He spins his past to catch his future,
iridescent and winged.
It’s a chance dropped into the air
like a stone into water.
From that center, ripples pulse,
stringing possibilities like beads.
His nocturnal attention is fixed,
counting each one out to the periphery.
Some threads of the latticework
catch leaves, some dangle raindrops,
others let light slide down their lengths.
But time flings live hearts into the web
to die there. And he wraps them up
in the shape of his unchanging hunger.
Michael T. Young's third full-length collection, The Infinite Doctrine of Water, was longlisted for the Julie Suk Award. He received a fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. His chapbook, Living in the Counterpoint, received the Jean Pedrick Chapbook Award. He received honorable mention for the 2022 New Jersey Poets Prize. His poetry has been featured on Verse Daily and The Writer's Almanac. It has also appeared in numerous journals including Lily Poetry Review, OneArt, Pinyon, Talking River Review, and Valparaiso Poetry Review.
